The invention relates in general to the field of communications and in particular to a system and method for automatically designing communications circuits.
Network plans for voice, data, and other communications networks are typically developed by network planning personnel based on demand, cost, traffic patterns, load balancing, and other factors. The output of the network planning process is usually a collection of route plans each specifying one or more routes between two circuit end points in the network and including any intermediate points the circuit will pass through between its end points. Optimal utilization of available network capacity is desired. Accordingly, once the network has been fully planned, separate provisioning personnel use the route plans to design circuits such that the network, as it is actually provisioned, matches the network plan as closely as possible. The circuit designers must take into account a number of possibly competing considerations to arrive at a design based on their experience and judgment that, it is hoped, satisfies the considerations as optimally as possible. The requirement that designers be intimately familiar with networks may often limit the ability of network providers to transfer personnel into or out of design positions, hampering flexibility within these organizations.
Even with the availability of prior software tools, these manual circuit design techniques have been relatively difficult, slow, inconsistent, and otherwise inefficient in their implementation. When facilities, equipment, or other circuit elements associated with an existing circuit are added, deleted, modified, or otherwise acted upon, the design must be re-validated using the same inefficient processes. Perhaps just as important, there are few if any controls on the manner in which a circuit is designed. The design, and any aspects of the design that violate the corresponding plan but are permitted to exist in the network, are left almost exclusively to the designer. As an example, the designer might choose to assign a route plan to a circuit despite the fact, or perhaps without knowledge of the fact, that the assignment violates one or more diversity rules for the circuit being designed. If made erroneously, such decisions may undermine the reliability of the network and result in substantial losses to the network provider and its customers. Prior techniques do not readily allow network planning intelligence to be incorporated into the route selection process. As communications needs continue to expand, and network providers seek ways to respond more rapidly, consistently, and efficiently to growing demand for circuits, these and other problems are exacerbated. These and other deficiencies have made prior techniques inadequate for the needs of many network providers.
According to the present invention, disadvantages and problems associated with previous techniques for designing communications circuits are substantially reduced or eliminated.
According to one embodiment, a computer-implemented system for designing communications circuits includes one or more route plans each with a first route point group associated with a first circuit end point, a second route point group associated with a second circuit end point, and one or more routes connecting the first and second route point groups. Each route is available for use in designing the circuit. A design engine accesses a particular route plan, selects a route according to the route plan, and then automatically assigns the selected route to the circuit in designing the circuit. In one more particular embodiment, the design engine may select the route plan from among multiple route plans according to a service application that the design engine has automatically derived from an associated circuit order. In another more particular embodiment, the design engine may assign equipment to the circuit at points along the selected route according to an equipment assignment template (EAT) that specifies characteristics of the equipment. The design engine may select the EAT from among multiple EATs according to a service application.
The present invention provides a number of important advantages over prior circuit design techniques. Unlike previous techniques, the introduction of route plans based on route point groups allows the optimal routing for a circuit to be determined automatically based on strategic plans, available capacity, diversity criteria, and other suitable factors, resulting in faster, more consistent, and more efficient designs. The present invention automates many processes performed manually in prior techniques, relieving design personnel of the burden of intimate familiarity with the network and helping network providers respond more quickly, consistently, and reliably to customer requests for circuits. For example, selection and assignment of qualified facilities may be made automatically, without regard to the physical layer technology associated with the facilities. Required equipment for a specific type of circuit may be automatically selected and assigned according to suitable equipment assignment templates.
Other aspects of the circuit design process, automated according to the present invention, benefit the network provider and its customers in a variety of ways. As an example, personnel may be transferred into and out of design positions more readily, giving the network provider increased flexibility. The present invention also allows controls to be readily placed on the design process, helping ensure that circuit designs adhere to network plans when possible and, if not possible, that design violations are logged and flagged for subsequent remediation. In contrast to previous techniques, the present invention allows network planning and other business intelligence to be readily incorporated into the circuit design process. As an example, factors such as demand, capacity, and load balancing may be considered automatically in connection with route selection and assignment to facilitate network optimization.
Systems and methods that incorporate one or more of these or other technical advantages are well suited for modem communications networks. Still other technical advantages are readily apparent to those skilled in the art from the following figures, descriptions, and claims.